Family
by thatwriterkidtoday
Summary: What if Clarke had an adopted brother? How would that change things? Will eventually become Anya/Clarke and possibly OC/Tris
1. Chapter 1

13

 **Day One**

 _What I wouldn't give to see the ground,_ Clarke thought as she looked out of the window of her cell at the world below. Her cell was different, it was the only cell in the so called sky box that was decorated. Her mother being on the council did not get her out of the space prison but it did mean that she got art supplies. The walls of her cell were covered in her drawings, mostly of Earth. She had been locked up for over a year and she was getting close to her eighteenth birthday. She was not ready to leave her mother and little brother behind.

Clarke Griffin was a citizen of the Ark, the last known survivors of the human race. When a nuclear apocalypse decimated the world ninety-seven years prior the only people to have survived were the ones that were in space. She and everyone on the Ark space station were descended from those people. Life on the Ark was hard but it was a way of life that they were all used to. She would have been happy living under the regime for the rest of her life had they not executed her father and locked her up.

She had not seen her mother or her brother since they had executed her father, Jake Griffin. Jake had been an environmental engineer, in charge of the life support system on the Ark. A year before he had found a fatal flaw in the system, proof that the station was dying. He wanted to report but his wife, Abby, disagreed. Clarke had found out and they were both planning to tell when her father was caught. On the Ark, all crimes were punishable by death, unless you were under the age of eighteen. When they were found out Jake was executed but Clarke, being only sixteen, was sent to lock up, referred to as the 'sky box'.

When she went away she had left behind her little brother Louis, who went by TJ. On the Ark, every couple was only allowed to have one child, so he was not her biological brother but he had been with them his entire life. His family had lived in the apartment next to their's and his mother had died in childbirth. Technically, his biological father still alive but he would not take care of him. the Griffins were allowed to take him in when he was only a month old and so he had never known any family but theirs.

Clarke twirled her long, light blonde hair in her fingers and thought about her family. She had gotten her sea blue eyes from her father but, as far as she knew, no one in their family had ever had light hair. Both of her parents were brunettes and her mother had brown eyes. She stood out among the people of the Ark, though not as much as her brother, who had very pale skin, a lot of freckles, glowing green eyes, and bright red hair. He was likely descended from the Irish people of Earth.

The door to her cell flew open and she was ordered against the wall before she could even figure out what was happening. They could not be executing her, she was still seventeen for another month. She was on the verge of a panic attack when they tried to take her father's watch from her. It was the only thing she had left of his. She pushed the guard but was only able to make it as far as the hallway when he mother's voice reached her, stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Clarke, stop," Dr. Abigail Griffin called, running to hold her daughter. It had been more than a year since they had seen each other and the embrace brought tears to both of their eyes. "Clarke, you're not being executed. You're being sent to the ground. All one hundred of you. Now, your brother is here. He'll tell you what happened when you land but, sweetheart, you have to take care of the both of you. Your instincts will tell you to take care of everyone, just like your father, but you two are the most important to me. I love you. Take care of TJ."

The blonde was about to object when she felt a needle pierce her neck, the fast acting sedative taking effect immediately. When her eyes fluttered back open it was obvious that she had been moved. Blinking and looking around rapidly, she found herself surrounded by old looking metal. This was no exactly a new phenomenon, as the Ark was made entirely of metal, but this seemed different somehow. She was strapped into a seat. She realized where she was, a drop ship.

Looking at everything around her she saw that she was not alone, many of the other prisoners from the sky box were on board. Her mother had said that her brother would be there but she could not see him. She did, however, see the smiling face of the boy that used to be her best friend/boyfriend, Wells Jaha.

"Welcome back," he said cheerfully. Wells was a handsome dark-skinned kid her age with an athletic body and short black hair, but kind, soulful brown eyes. She hated him. "Look-"

"Wells, why the hell are you here?" Clarke asked.

"I got myself arrested. I came for you."

He had that same lost puppy look that he always had around Clarke and it grated on her nerves. He had no right, in her mind, to try and make her love him. She had loved him once and he had betrayed her. When Well's father, Chancellor Thelonius Jaha, began talking on the ship's screen, she tuned him out. He had executed, or 'floated', her father so she could not care less what he had to say. She only began paying attention when one of the other prisoners got out of his seat, a boy her age with curly brown hair sticking out of the end of his beanie.

"You're the traitor that's been in solitary for a year," the boy said, a smile on his face. God, she wanted to hit him.

"And you're the idiot that wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal space-walk," she fired back, tone uncaring.

"But it was fun. I'm Finn."

The blonde could not help but roll her eyes before continuing her examination of the ship that they were in. she thought that there were several levels and that caused her to breathe easier, as it meant that her brother could be on a different level. She urged everyone to stay where they were as the ship landed but her warning went unheeded by two boys who decided to follow Finn out of their seats. All three were smashed up against the side of the ship when it broke through Earth's atmosphere. She began panicking then. What if they all died and she never got to see TJ again? Her brother would only be ten years old now, she could not let him die alone.

She raced out of her seat to check on the others but when she realized the two who had followed Finn were dead she raced down the ladder. She was terrified of what would happen when they opened up the doors to the outside. It might kill them all. She called out to an older, brown haired boy in a guard's uniform, "Stop, the air could be toxic!"

"If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyways," he smiled sarcastically. He had olive skin, brown eyes, and seemed to be too old, as he was at least twenty.

"Bellamy?" a girl's voice called from the back. People moved out of the way to let her come through, looking strikingly like the boy. She had the same brown hair and olive skin, though with green eyes. She threw her arms around and that is when Clarke understood who she was, Octavia Blake. Her mother had been executed almost a year ago for the crime of having a second child, her.

The words "I haven't seen my brother in a year" that Octavia said resonated with the blonde and she looked around for her own brother. She had no luck though, as even if he was there, she could not see him. She rationalized that it was highly likely that that was simply because he was much smaller than all of the others and that she would find him once they got outside.

When the door flew open and the light streamed through they took a collective gasp as one, breathing in the sweetness of the air. It was like nothing they had ever experienced. There was light and color everywhere and the day was soon disturbed by the running and screaming of the, now former, prisoners as they left the ship. She was so focused on the world around her that she never noticed the boy running towards her until he had her pinned to the ground.

It was no secret that Louis Thomas Jacob Griffin had missed his sister. She had been with him his whole life and the year without her had been torture. In the sky box they were only allowed contact with people in their same sections, so he only interacted with the few people in lock up that were under the age of fourteen. He buried his head in her blonde hair and reveled in the feeling of her arms coming up to surround him. He was home.

"I've missed you so much," Clarke cried, tears in her voice.

There was a few more minutes of hugging and crying before the siblings finally stood up, brushing off their clothes. Clarke moved them off to the side and, with one arm around her brother's shoulders, took out a map and began reading it. It was not long before she realized that the Ark, in all of their infinite wisdom, had dropped them on the wrong mountain. She pulled TJ close, kissed his hair, and tried to ignore Finn's attempts to hit on her. When Wells tried to get too close her brother intervened.

"Go away, traitor," the boy spat with as much malice as a ten year could manage. He knew what had happened, he had been there when his sister had told her then boyfriend what their father was planning. He had gotten their father killed.

"I'm just trying to help, TJ," the dark-skinned boy pleaded.

"Go help somewhere else."

"Look, the communication system is dead. I went to the roof and a dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."

"Cool, a map," another boy swaggered up behind them, causing all three to turn. He was lanky and nerdy looking with a pointed face, messy brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, and, most notably, a pair of goggles perched on top of his head. "Is there a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer."

"Do you mind?"

Wells began to push the boy away when another, rougher group of boys approached. They were led by a pale skinned brunette boy that appeared to have an insane look permanently fixed on his face. He spoke up, getting in between the two boys, "He's with us."

"Relax, we're just trying to figure out where we are."

"I'll tell you where we are, we're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Bellamy called from a few yards away, his sister Octavia at his side.

Clarke sighed at the arguing going on between the others but did her best to urge the others to go look for supplies. She would not be the reason that her little brother starved. When Wells and the insane looking boy began fighting she pushed TJ back and allowed Finn to intervene. She would protect her brother first before she did anything else. She saw to her ex boyfriend's ankle and then took off, leading a party to go get food that included her, TJ, Finn, Octavia, the goggle boy, and his friend. She did not want to take the young boy with them but she was not going to leave him alone in a camp full of criminals.

"My name's Jasper," the google kid said as they walked, offering his hand and a smile to the youngest of their party. "What's yours?"

"Everyone calls me TJ," the redhead said in a small voice. He looked to Jasper's friend, a boy of Asian descent, with a degree of uncertainty.

"Don't worry, this is Monty."

Clarke smiled as the two friends started a conversation with her brother about their favorite books. She could tell that she was going to like the two just by the way that they treated her brother like an actual person, rather than a child. She tried not to think less of them when she found out that they had been arrested for stealing herbs on the Ark. She was sure that they had not used them for innocent means.

"How'd you get arrested, TJ?" Finn asked.

Looking forward to make sure that Clarke could not hear him, he responded, "They executed my dad and arrested my sister. As they were taking her away, well, I tried to get to her. I may have, possibly, hit a guard.

"That's hardcore, kid," Jasper laughed. "What about you, Octavia? What'd they get you for?"

"Being born," the brunette girl mumbled, stomping off. TJ looked mildly confused and scampered off after her. When he caught up to her, she had resumed a regular pace that he was much better suited to keep up with. She looked over at him and sighed deeply. "How'd your parents get away with it?"

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

"You're their second kid, right?"

"I mean, kind of, but I'm adopted. I'm sorry about what happened to your mom."

"I'm sorry about what happened to your dad. I'm Octavia, by the way."

"TJ, it's nice to meet you."

They rejoined the others and they all went ahead. Some ways on Clarke stopped everyone and pulled her brother to crouch down beside her, trusting the others to follow. She shushed them and pointed. Off, a little ways from them, stood the first animal that any of them had ever actually seen, a deer. It was beautiful, grazing on grass in the middle of a meadow, and it struck something in all of the children. They were truly on the ground. This magic was shattered by TJ's shriek of surprise when it turned to reveal two heads. His sister held him to her until his breathing returned to normal and they continued their journey.

For people who had never seen anything but the metal world that they grew up in, the world that they suddenly found themselves in was extremely strange. There were so many sounds and sights to see that it was hard for them to take it all in. it was like seeing color for the first time, they had no idea what they should have been focusing on. Still, the bonde urged them all on, saying that they would have time to sight see when they were not in danger of starvation.

"You know what I'd like to know," Finn started, eliciting an eye roll from Clarke. "Why now? Why send us down here after ninety seven years? What changed?"

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did," said Octavia. She hopped over a log and grabbed onto a slim tree, circling around it. "I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest."

"Maybe they found some kind of satellite," Monty offered. "Like an old weather satellite or-"

Clarke huffed and realized that there was no use in keeping it to herself, interrupting him and saying, "It wasn't a satellite. The Ark is dying. At the current population level, there's roughly three months of life support, maybe four now that we're gone."

"So, that was the secret they lock you up to keep?" Finn asked, coming up alongside the blonde. "Why they kept you in solitary, arrested your brother, and floated your old man?"

"Dad discovered the flaw," TJ said quietly, holding on to his sister's hand. Clarke, not wanting him to have to tell it, went on, "He thought that the people had a right to know. The council disagreed, our mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go through with it anyways when Wells… Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today, that's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all died, at least they'd bought themselves a little more time."

She looked down at her little brother and saw the pain in his face. Their father had been his favorite person in the world and she had not truly known until that moment how hard his death had been on the boy. She hugged him to her and kissed his forehead as they kept walking. She promised herself that they would have a long talk once they found the supplies that they needed.

TJ's eyes lit up when he saw Octavia ahead of them undressing, though not for the reason that the other boys' were. He had never seen real water in such a size and he had certainly never been swimming. He was just behind the brunette girl in stripping down to his under and jumping into the water. He was worried, as he could not swim, but the water was just high enough that he could stand and it come up to his shoulders. He laughed as Octavia splashed water on him playfully.

He looked up at the sound of his sister's shrieks and began walking the shore at her insistence. He and the brunette were moving as quickly as they could but, luckily for him, he was faster than the girl. He made it to land just as the serpent creature was grabbing his new friend and he screamed. His siter drug him up into her arms and he cried out for Octavia, wishing that he could save her. His heart stopped beating in the moments that she was under the water but he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that his sister had a plan. After Clarke had distracted the creature, Jasper jumped in and saved her.

"Are you okay?" TJ asked, grabbing the brown haired girl's hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine, kid," Octavia smiled at him, and then at the boy that had saved her. "Thanks to Jasper."

Clarke had spent a lot of time at the clinic with her mother taking care of patients, and she learned early on that she had a talent for medicine, as did her brother. Neither were doctors but they both knew enough to keep them alive on the ground. The blonde ripped off a strip of Jasper's shirt and used it to bandage the wound that they serpent had left on Octavia's leg, not having anything sterile. She would have given anything for her mother's medical supplies but she understood that she was going to have to improvise on the ground.

Deciding that rest would be good for all of them, they found a, relatively, comfortable plot of ground and circled up, Finn volunteering to take the first watch. Clarke burrowed down and opened her arms, falling asleep with her little brother on her chest.


	2. Chapter 2

7

 **DAY TWO**

The next morning they all woke up to the rumbling in their stomachs. It was rather obviously apparent how important it was for them to find food. With renewed vigor and empty bellies, they set out for Mount Weather. Still, as hungry as they were, there was still a gentle frivolous air about them, the euphoria from finally being on the ground having not completely fizzled out yet. Jasper carried Octavia on his back and TJ, feeling left out, jumped on to his sister's in a fit of laughter. She wanted to chastise him, to tell him that they needed to be serious now that they were on the ground, but she could not bring it upon herself to do that to him. She loved the dimpled smile on his face too much.

When they got to the river where they needed to cross Clarke had to talk her brother out of being the first one to swing on the vine. She had to admit that it looked like fun but she did not one him to go first. If something went terribly wrong, if someone was going to die, she did not want it to be her baby brother. They both cheered as Jasper went flying over the river and landed on the other side. They had made it to Mount Weather. They were going to survive.

Their victorious celebration was interrupted by Jasper's shouts of elation. They all turned in time to see a spear land in his chest. Clarke pushed her brother down and urged the others away from the area. _We have to get somewhere safe_ , she thought frantically as they ran through the woods. _Except, this is Earth. This is the ground. There is nowhere safe, especially if we are not alone here._ She urged those around her to move faster in an attempt to stave off the crazed thoughts. They needed to get as far away from whoever had attacked Jasper as possible.

Jasper's bone rattling scream sent them back to the river, but, on discovering that he was nowhere to be found, they took off back towards the drop ship. Octavia, her leg injured from the serpent attack the day before, was slower than they would have hoped but she moved as fast as she could. After a while, TJ's small legs got extremely sore from the grueling pace and his body, with no food in the last day, was too weak to carry on. Clarke simply shrugged and lifted him onto her back, knowing that carrying him they would still move faster than if they stopped to rest. They needed to get back and warn the others.

The blonde was furious when they walked back into camp to find Wells about to kill another boy. They started into their speech about Jasper and they people that had attacked him, whom they dubbed 'grounders'. She was even more enraged to learn that the others had been removing their wristbands. They were sentencing every person on the Ark to death, including her mother. She, however, could not control them. Still, she _could_ save Jasper, so that was what she was going to do.

She gathered supplies, fastened a pack, and left her brother with Octavia, who could not go on the rescue mission due to her injured leg. She did not truly trust anyone in the camp yet, but if she had to leave the person that she loved most with someone, she would prefer that it be someone who had shown a genuine interest in him, like the brunette. She sure as hell was not going to leave her baby brother with her ex-boyfriend. TJ sat about cleaning his new friend's leg and she smiled at him. he was so gentle and kind, taking care of others with no thought of what he would get in return.

When all was said and done the rescue party ended up being Clarke, Wells, Finn, Bellamy, and the guy with the insane look on his face, Murphy. The blonde had a bad feeling about him. He seemed off, almost murderous. She did not trust him, and she truly believed that she had good reason not to. She kept her eye on him as they walked, as she figured that he would be the first person to try and stab her in the back if the chance presented itself. She did not trust Bellamy, but she trusted him a lot more than Murphy.

"Where'd you learn all of this medicine stuff?" Octavia asked TJ as he applied a fresh bandage to her wound. They were sitting up on the third, and top, level of the drop ship, keeping Monty company as he worked on the communication system.

"My mom's a doctor on the Ark," the young boy said, washing off the girl's leg with some of the water that Wells had thought to collect. "Clarke's better at this stuff than me, but I know enough. I was closer to our dad. I'm named after him, actually. My middle name is Jacob. That was his name."

"Your first name is Louis, right?"

"Yeah, my biological mom died before she could give me a name and my biological father didn't actually care enough to name me. Mom and Dad did. They named me Louis, so that we could be Louis and Clarke, after the famous explorers. It was Dad's idea. He was such a nerd. Anyways, they made my middle name Thomas-Jacob, Thomas after my mom's dad. Mom always said that Louis sounded old, so she called me TJ and it kinda stuck."

"What was your dad like?"

"He was an environmental engineer, that's how he knew about the flaw with the life support system. Dad was a good person, always worried about others, and they killed him for it."

"I'm sorry, kid," the girl's voice was soothing and she wrapped her arm around the young boy and brought him to her. He rested his head on her shoulder and they both sighed happily.

"Do you miss your mom?"

"Sometimes, but not often. She never was a particularly kind woman. Bellamy is the only family that I've ever needed."

"You're close, huh?"

"What, you're not close to Clarke?"

"I am, but it's different. She's so over-protective of me that sometimes it feels like she's my mom."

"I get that, Bellamy is overprotective too. He actually left someone to babysit me."

"Clarke left you to watch me."

"That's different," Monty said, never looking up from the wires he was messing with. "You're a kid, we've all gotta look out for you. Now, why don't you come over here and give me a hand?"

The little boy lit up and raced over to Monty, watching closely as he handled the tools and wires. He had extremely nimble fingers that fluttered around nervously when he worked. TJ instantly knew that there was a lot that he could learn if he simply paid attention. Octavia left at some point, after he had removed her bracelet, but neither boy really noticed. The older was too busy giving the younger a crash course in basic engineering. Monty smiled, he had always wanted a little brother.

With all of Finn's flirting, Clarke almost wished that she had gone with Wells. Either way, it was someone pinning after her, which she most definitely did not want. Finn was reckless and arrogant and Wells had gotten her father killed. Both had about a snowball's chance in hell of ever gaining her affections. Her focus could not be on boys when she had to protect her brother.

She wanted to cry when they found Jasper. From everything that she had seen on that first day he was sweet and kind, certainly undeserving of the state that they found him in. they loaded him on a stretcher and Murphy slid the panther that Wells had shoot to rest across his shoulders. At least they had food for the night, if nothing else. Clarke did not know how she was going to save Jasper with no real medical supplies but she knew that she had to try. No one, not even Bellamy or Murphy, deserved what had happened to him.

"How do you expect to save him, Princess?" Murphy sneered as they walked, his step unsteady under the weight of the beast that he was carrying.

"I don't know, but I'll figure something out," said Clarke quietly, looking down at Jasper as they walked.

"Are you some kind of junior doctor, or something?" asked Bellamy with genuine curiosity. This honestly surprised the blonde, as she had, up to that point, seen nothing that indicated intelligence under the man's bad attitude.

"My mother is the Chief Medical Officer on the Ark, and I used to assist her in procedures. I know enough to be useful, I just hope it's enough to save Jasper."

"In your hands, Goggles will be just fine, Princess."

They came into to camp to t=find that it was beginning to resemble an actual camp. Tents were popping up everywhere and work had been started on building a wall. Clarke had to admit that she was impressed with what they had accomplished. She got Jasper into the drop ship and sent her brother and Wells to retrieve fresh water and bandages for the boy's wounds.

Finn got both Clarke and TJ food, as none of the three were willing to take off their wristbands. Brother and sister curled up together in the drop ship near Jasper to monitor him, full bellies and heavy hearts. They had not been there long when TJ mumbled, "Do you think they'll come for us, the Ark?"

"I hope so," Clarke kissed his head.

"I miss Mom."

"Me too, but if we can just stay alive long enough, they'll come down. I know they will."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And, with that, the siblings settled in to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

5

 **DAY THREE**

Everyone was worried about the two of the Hundred that had gone missing, a girl named Trina and a boy named Pascal. Of course, the sounds of Jasper crying out in pain were not exactly helping moral. It was obvious that it was haunting TJ, anyone could see it in the little boy, and so Clarke sent her little brother away under the guise of getting fresh water. She did not think that it was heathy for him to sit for so long watching someone die.

He came back talking about a girl his age named Charlotte, who he had known in lock up. Clarke smiled at the thought of him making friends but she was also sad. They were so young and had been sent to the ground to die. She could not help but be mad and blame her mother for what was happening to them. What had the woman been thinking?

Octavia took TJ out to look at butterflies, and there they found two other children that had been in his section of the sky box. One was a girl named Luna, about twelve years old. She was small with pale skin, brown eyes, and black hair reaching almost to her knees. The second was probably the youngest of the Hundred, an eight year old boy named Striker. He was just as small with a splash of freckles, light brown hair, blue eyes, and clothes that were way too big for him.

"What'd you do to get locked up?" Octavia asked Striker as she was showing the three children how to make spears. It was a messed up kind of arts and crafts but this was the ground and even the youngest of them had to pull their own weight.

"Took food," the little boy shrugged. "I was hungry and my papa wouldn't give me any food so I took some, but they caught me. What about you?"

"You know my brother Bellamy?"

"Yeah.'

"Well, on the Ark you're only allowed to have one child. I got arrested for being born when I wasn't supposed to and my mom was floated. It's just me and Bell."

"At least you have each other."

"We all have each other now," Octavia smiled, ruffling Striker's hair. Luna was sitting on her lap and she nuzzled their faces together lovingly. "No one is alone down here, do you hear me? We're all here for each other, I know I'm here for you guys. You got it?"

All three agreed and it was not long before the young children had the older girl cackling in laughter. Octavia, rough on the outside and with no real experience interacting with other people, found that she was great with the kids. That had a childish innocence about them that made them extremely easy to love. it was a lot easier to ignore how irritating her brother was when looking into the faces of those young kids.

Clarke came by to tell them that she was going to find seaweed to treat Jasper's wounds. TJ wanted to go but his sister insisted that it was not necessary. She and Octavia shared a look that that told her to take care of the youngest among them and she left with a promise to return soon. Her brother did not like the idea of her going out alone with Wells and Finn. He hated Wells and he did not like the way that Finn looked at her.

They were finishing fastening their knives when one of the older boys, Goren, came running into the camp screaming for everyone to get inside. He had severe burns on him and they could all see the fog coming. Octavia shot to her feet and rushed everyone to get inside of the drop ship, though she had to grab ahold of TJ around his middle to stop him from running out.

"My sister is out there," he cried when the drop ship door closed. He turned and buried his head in the older girl's stomach, making his words a bit muffled. "Clarke, I don't want her to die alone like our dad did. I can't let her die alone."

"She's not alone," Octavia soothed. "And she's not going to die. She's out there with the others and, if I know anything about her, she's going to get them out of this. You have to have faith in her. My brother's out there too, but I trust him to come back to me."

"Why'd he go out?"

"They're hunting, trying to find us some more food."

TJ went to respond but he was cut off by Jasper's shriek of pain from the third level. The two looked at each other before racing up the ladder to find Monty trying to keep the boy quiet. The others, on the lower floors, did not appreciate the boy's cries of pain but they would not leave him. He was their friend, even though they had not known each other long. The young boy found a bar to slide through the handle of the hatch so that Murphy could not get through and they all settled in, willing to wait for Clarke to come back with whatever it was that was, hopefully, going to cure Jasper.

 **DAY THREE**

TJ, Octavia, Monty, and Jasper had, somehow, made it through the night. Jasper's screams had only become louder and more filled with pain so none of them had really slept, and they were hungry, but they were more or less okay. Jasper had floated in and out of consciousness throughout the night and, at some point, had begun spouting off nonsense that, in their exhausted state, the others found extremely amusing.

The acid fog was cleared when they went out at daybreak and all were able to breathe a sigh of relief, at least until the others came in carrying Atom's body. Octavia fell apart at the sight and TJ felt so helpless watching her. He left her to grieve, instead following his sister up the ladder of the drop ship and helping her brew the seaweed tea for Jasper to drink. When it was ready, TJ, Monty, and Octavia gathered around Clarke to watch her pour the drink down the boy's throat.


	4. Chapter 4

11

 **DAY FIVE**

"So, what'd you do while we were gone?" Clarke asked her little brother. It was early morning and both had been woken prematurely by TJ's nightmares. It was still too early for them get up but also too late for them to go back to sleep, and so they were simply laid on their pallet in the drop ship, the younger curled into the older.

"I found some of the others that I'd been in lock up with, Striker and Luna," TJ said as he played with his sister's fingers. "Octavia helped us make knives. I made one for you."

"Did you make one for yourself?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll use it. I'm not a warrior like you."

"You think I'm a warrior?"

"Yeah."

Clarke smiled at the dopey look on her brother's face and sighed. She did not know what she was supposed to tell him about what had happened to their father. He had known just as much as she had, and had blamed Wells just as she had. She did not know if she could tell him that it was really their mother that had told the council about their father's plan. He was just a kid, she was not sure that it would be fair to burden him with that knowledge. Still, was it fair to let him go on hating Wells for something that he did not do? Wells, who had always been nothing but kind. In the end, she knew that she had to tell him the truth.

"Hey, I've gotta tell you something, and you're not gonna like it."

"What is it?"

"You know how the only people that knew about the flaw in the life support system and Dad's plan were you, me, Wells, and Mom?"

"Yeah."

"TJ, it wasn't Wells that told Jaha about what Dad was going to do."

"What? No, that means…"

"It was Mom."

Clarke held her brother while he cried. She understood his pain, she felt it too. She wanted revenge, she wanted her mother to hurt for what she had done. She had killed her father and split up their family. She had started the chain reaction that got Clarke and TJ locked up, and then later sent down to Earth to die. She was their mother but still, Clarke hated her.

They got up when the sun began to rise and left the drop ship to start their day. The siblings had already decided that they were going to build a tent that day so that they could have a little more privacy. They were collecting wood to be used for the frame when one of the older girls, Alissa, came running into camp screaming about finding a dead body. Clarke held her brother to her when they brought Wells' body into camp, a deep gash in his neck and several fingers missing.

Everyone assumed that it was the grounders that had killed him and it sent the people into a panic. Suddenly, all effort was transferred to building the wall and learning how to use spears and knives. Murphy wanted TJ to join them in weapons training but Clarke sent him to work on their tent and threatened the older boy within an inch of his life if he ever came near her brother again.

TJ looked up while tying the poles of the tent frame to see Octavia approaching him. She sat down next to him and began speaking softly, "I saw how messed up you were about Wells, were you guys close?"

"He dated my sister for a long time, and they were friends before that," the boy shrugged, keeping his eyes trained down at the rope in his hands. "He's always been there. Before everything with my dad we were friends. I guess he was kinda like an older brother. He was nice, always tried to include me when he was hanging out with Clarke. We thought that he was the one that turned in our dad, but he didn't. Our mom did. I never even got to say sorry for the way I've been treating him."

"Do you know why he let you and your sister believe that he was the one that got your father killed?"

"No, why would he let us hate him?"

"Because he loved you, dumb dumb. He loved you guys so much that he would rather you hate him than go through the pain of knowing that it was your mother. That's pretty great, to have someone love you that much."

TJ thought about that as he tied the material that he was losing to the poles. He understood what Octavia was saying, but it only made him feel worse. He had not been kind to the older boy when he had tried to talk to the Griffin siblings and now he would never be able to apologize for that. When he stood up and tried to move to work on another section Octavia grabbed TJ around his waist and pulled him down into her lap.

"He knew that you loved him, and he understood why you acted the way that you did," the brunette said. She held the boy tightly as he began to cry, wishing she could take his pain from him. "You know, I always wanted a little brother. I always wanted to know what it would be like to have someone to take care of like my brother took care of me."

"Oh, please," TJ scoffed, wiping the tears from his face with his shirt sleeve. "I don't need any more older sisters. I already have one and let me tell you, she's a handful."

"Are you talking bad about me?" a voice said, alerting the two to the fact that Clarke was walking up. She flopped down in front of them and wiped the sweat from her brow, hoping they would ignore her puffy eyes. "And what do you mean _I_ was a handful? I was nothing compared to you."

"Whatever, I only got in trouble because of you."

"Like when?"

"Like that time you decided that we should practice our earth skills in the living room. We caught the couch on fire."

"That was your fault for dropping the paper."

"But it was your idea. What about the time that you convinced me to help you redecorate Mom's office by drawing all over the walls?"

"Okay, yeah, that was on me."

"And how about when you dropped me down the garbage chute?"

"Hey, that was Wells. He was supposed to hold onto you."

The siblings' laughter was cut off at the thought of the recently deceased. That had shared so much of who they were with them, and both knew that his ghost would be one that haunt them for the rest of their lives. Still, they were able to move on from their awkward silence and finish setting up their tent, with the help of Octavia.

When they were done, TJ moved over to where his friends were creating weapons. He took a piece of wood that was meant to be fastened into a spear and he suddenly got an idea. Clarke needed a weapon, but she also loved art. His father had told him about how some of the people on Earth used to carve pictures into the wood. He had called it whittling. He took the knife that he had made out of his pocket and began to work on what would be a spear shaft.

Starting at the bottom, he first carved a young girl holding a baby. Next, there was the same girl, a little bit older, with a toddler on her shoulders. Above that was an elaborate scene of an older boy holding the same toddler upside down by his ankles. And so it went on. There was the time that their dad had been chasing TJ and he ran into a wall, the day they caught their couch on fire, when TJ, Clarke, and Wells broke into the council chamber, and it ended with the three of them sitting on a couch, TJ spread across Wells and Clarke's legs.

"That's beautiful," Monty said, crouching down beside the boy and taking the spear shaft into his hand. "Have you ever done this before?"

"No, but my dad told me it was something that people used to do," TJ said simply.

"You're really good at it. Is that you, Clarke and Wells?"

"Yeah, I just wanted Clarke to have something to remind her of the good times. I used a spear handle because she needs a weapon, you know?"

"Could you maybe do one for me, something with trees and stuff on it?"

"Yeah, sure."

The brunette boy ruffled his hair and took off, leaving TJ to finish the spear for his sister. When he was done, he sat it aside and began working on one for Monty. He had found something to distract himself from his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Clarke was busy arguing with Bellamy over how they should divide up the duties. He thought that they should dedicate all of their manpower to building and guarding the wall but she disagreed, saying that, while all of that was important, they also needed to cure meat, find herbs, and plant and cultivate food. When he finally caved and agreed, it was lunch time.

The blonde took her lunch behind the drop ship, hoping for a moment alone. True solitude, however, was a thing of the past on the ground, and soon she was joined by someone she had been friends with for years. Squid was only seventeen but she had a look about her that just screamed that she was older. She was tall for a girl at six feet even and had a short brown Mohawk and piercing blue eyes. Her most noticeable feature was a deformed third arm under her right armpit that had earned her the nickname Squid. It was an uncommon birth defect but she had always taken it in stride.

"How's it going, Princess?" the brunette said as she sat down next to Clarke. Looking at her, you would never be able to tell that she was a girl. Her short hair and baggy boys' clothes hid any possible femininity.

"Not you too," complained Clarke good-natruedly. "Ever since we landed, people have been calling me that."

"Well, you pretty much are the princess of this train wreck, what with your mom being who she is and all. Besides, you and Bellamy have kinda taken charge."

"Somebody has to, better me being bossy than all of us dying, you know?"

"True. How's the little man doing?"

"TJ's okay, but he's taking Wells' death pretty hard."

"What'd you think would happen? You and Wells were always inseparable, and that boy has spent his entire life glued to your side. They were close through you. I imagine Wells was kinda like a big brother to him. Just, you know, be there for him and stuff."

"Wow, how profound."

Both teenagers laughed as they reveled in each other's presence. Friends were hard to make on the Ark but the two had met due to Squid's need to see Clarke's mother once a week as she grew up to have her examine her arm. The two had bonded and they had been friends since they were children.

Clarke left her food uneaten, and instead led a group out to go collect herbs. Her brother looked intent on what he was doing and so she left him alone, though she did pick up his friend Luna. The girl was skittish but very sweet and she figured that it would not hurt to take her under her wing. She also took Alissa and Goren, who'd both worked in agriculture on the Ark, as well as Squid and Monroe for protection.

They went down to the river to collect seaweed, as well as look for anything else that they might be able to use. Monroe noticed the fish and commented that they could probably spear them for food. They moved farther along the water line and found a fresh crop of berries that, from their earth skills lessons, they knew were edible. Unfortunately, with no way to know what affect the radiation had had on the plants, they simply had to take their chances and hope that what they were eating would not kill them.

 **DAY SIX**

"Clarke, do you think we'll ever see them again?" the youngest of the Hundred, Striker, asked the blonde as she showed him how to boil herbs into tea. Both she Bellamy had agreed that they needed to delegate easier, though no less important, tasks to the youngest of them. They understood that there would be time for them to learn how to fight and such when they were older. For now, they thought that it was best to give them jobs that would benefit the group as a whole but would also keep them safe.

"I think so," Clarke smiled when they boy flopped himself down in her lap. "Do you have family on the Ark?"

"My parents, but I don't really care about my dad. I miss my mom, though. She's sick, but your mom's takin' care of her."

Clarke smiled at the boy's innocence. She had taken it upon herself to watch after the little ones. She had many reasons for that, one being that they were her brother's friends, but the main one was that she saw something of TJ in every single one of those kids. She also understood that, because of her brother, she had certain maternal instincts that were not yet present in the others of the Hundred. Most of them were older, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, but they had to take care of the younger ones.

Striker was the youngest, only eight years old, followed by TJ ana a little girl named Max at age ten. Luna was twelve and both Charlotte and a boy named Colton were thirteen. She tried to pair the kids up with people that she held in some degree of trust to help them assimilate to life on the ground. She chose Striker for herself and was having him assist with the more mundane tasks involved with medical work. He enjoyed helping and she greatly enjoyed teaching him. He was smart and inquisitive, with wisdom far beyond his years.

She watched over TJ as well, but he did not seem to need much help. He was fairly content to just sit by and make weapons. Alissa was teaching Max and Luna all she knew about farming and growing their own food. Colton and Charlotte had both been placed on the building crew, where they were in charge of tying sections of the wall together. They were under the direct tutelage of Thallan and Blaise, older boys that were best friends. She was coming to trust the people that they had landed with, and she trusted them above most others. Colton had shown an interest in hunting and so she had convinced Finn to take him out that day.

Her days were filled with teaching Striker and helping the others with their medical needs. There was a lot more for her to do than she would have originally thought, as someone was constantly getting themselves hurt. There were sprains from all of the climbing, scraped knees from tripping over the tree roots, cuts from weapons' accidents, and an endless amount of bruises and bloody knuckles from people getting into fights. Clarke and Bellamy did their best keep order, and, though it was hard, everything was getting better by the day.


	5. Chapter 5

7

 **DAY NINE**

TJ had been able to finish the spear for Monty quickly and Bellamy decided that his permanent place would be making weapons, as he seemed to have a knack for it. He had breakfast with Charlotte and he noticed that she was upset, though she would not tell him why. He was worried about her but he figured that she would open up to him when she was ready, if she ever was. They all were adjusting to being on the ground in different ways.

The red haired boy gave the spear to his sister and it brought tears to her eyes. She admitted to him that she did not think that she would be any good with it but that she appreciated that he had made it for her. He was a child playing at something bigger than himself and Clarke, not for the first time, cursed their mother for sentencing the boy to this fate. She worried that her brother, who had always been so sweet and kind hearted, would have no place in this strange new world, just as innocence did not.

After they shared a quick breakfast, Clarke let her brother get to his newly appointed job and she moved to the drop ship to check on Jasper. There plenty of minor injuries all around but he was by far her most pressing patient. That thought struck her as odd, the idea that she actually had patients. Everyone was immensely relieved that Jasper was getting better, even those that had wanted to kill a week prior. He was up and moving, with the help of Octavia, and that caused the blonde to breathe much easier.

"How are you feeling?" Clarke asked him as they walked through camp.

"Less and less like I'm going to die, thanks to you," he smiled in return. He gripped Octavia as they walked and Clarke had to wonder if he was simply taking advantage of the brunette girl's aide in order to be closer to her. "By the way, Monty thinks that he can use the wristbands to contact the Ark, if he can get one that's still working."

Clarke thought on that for a moment and made a decision. Monty needed a wristband and, right then, she wanted nothing more than to hurt her mother. She was not evil, but she wanted her to feel even a fraction of the pain that they were feeling. She and her brother had lost their father, she thought that it might do their mother some goo to think that she was dead for a while.

Monty was suspicious of her motives but he just shrugged and took the bracelet off anyways, choosing necessity over any questions he might have had. He managed to get it off still functioning and both considered that a win for them. She may have wanted to punish her mother but she knew that, if he could reestablish communications, her punishment would only be temporary. She rationalized this as a necessary evil but knew in her mind that this was just an excuse.

Jasper came back from his walk with Octavia shaking uncontrollably and holding a knife. The two grabbed Clarke and Bellamy and met in Bellamy's tent. They had not just found the knife, they had also found Wells' missing fingers. It left them all a little more than freaked out. Still, as freaked out as they were, Clarke wanted justice. She may not have been _in love_ with Wells anymore, but she had loved him.

"Get out of my way, Bellamy," the blonde insisted when the man stood in her way to stop her from leaving the tent.

"Clarke, be smart about this," he said in a measured tone. "Look at what we've achieved, the wall, the patrols. Like it or not, thinking the grounders killed Wells is good for us."

"Oh, good for you, you mean. What, keep people afraid and they'll work for you? Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it. It's good for all of us. Fear of the grounders is building that wall. And besides, what you gonna do? Just walk out there and ask the killer to step forward? You don't even know whose knife that is."

"Oh really?" she lifted up the weapon to show him the initials scratched into it. "J M, John Murphy. They people have a right to know."

She stormed out of the tent focused on finding and confronting the boy. She did not like him, though she was pretty sure that no one did. Bellamy kept him around to be his lackey but she could see the distrust in the man's eyes. She had no qualms about confronting Murphy, especially after she had seen him fight with Wells on two separate occasions. In her mind, he was guilty. It was that simple.

Of course, nothing is ever as it seems. The commotion of the argument brought upon them the attention of everyone, including her brother. She may have hated Murphy but she instantly wanted to rescind her actions when the others tried to execute him. she fought her way through to try and get to him, to try and save the boy that she believed had killed someone she loved, but she did not make it. They tied a noose and looped it around his neck. She brought TJ into her side and covered his head as the box was kicked out from under the boy's feet.

"Just stop, okay," Charlotte screamed, effectively cutting off all of the shouting. Her voice was shrill and, to Clarke at least, she looked terrified. "Murphy didn't kill Wells, I did."

TJ grabbed an axe from someone nearby and swung it at the rope that was holding Murphy up, letting the boy down. Both he and his sister went to him, removing the gag from his mouth and the noose from his neck, inspecting the bruising there. They looked up and followed Finn, Bellamy, and Charlotte into the tent, away from the others.

Hearing how his friend had murdered his sister's best friend broke TJ's heart. She looked so afraid while she recounted what had happened, why she had done what she had. Still, he held on to her protectively. He was not going to let anyone get to her. His sister snuck them out of the back while Bellamy distracted the crowd and they took off through the woods.

They could hear the others following them but Clarke urged them in. TJ held onto his friend's hand as Finn led them wherever they were going. In some way, he knew how all of this was going to end, and he hated it. Just as they began to hear Murphy catching up to them, Finn took them down a hatch and into a bunker where they would be safe for the time being. This place reminded him eerily of the Ark, as it was, essentially, an underground metallic room. He knew what it was, though, as they had all read about places like this in their studies. The people of Earth had built it to survive a nuclear attack, though this one appeared to have never been used.

Charlotte was visibly shaking and so TJ laid down next to her on one of the bunk beds, reaching out to take her hand in his. Finn brought them pillows and a blanket to share and told them gently to get some sleep. The boy simply held the girl's hand as he watch her sleep and prayed that his sister could get them out of this situation without any of them having to die.

Clarke looked around at the place that Finn had found and took stock of what was there. They could use all of the blankets and thing back at camp. There were even clothes. It seemed that the people that had built had had children, and so there were clothes in small sizes. That was what she loved the most and she was practically giddy with the thought that the youngest of the Hundred would have better clothes as the seasons changed.

At some point during his musing TJ had fallen asleep and when he awoke he found that it was to an empty bed. He looked around frantically but could not see Charlotte anywhere. He began to panic and, not knowing what else to do, woke up his sister and Finn from where they had fallen asleep on the couch. His heart beat fast as they left the bunker and raced through the woods to find the girl. He could not let her die.

They followed the sound of her shrieks to the edge of a cliff where she stood with Bellamy. They were trapped with nowhere to turn, Murphy and the others staring them down from the tree line. The insane boy quickly shot out and grabbed ahold of TJ, holding a knife to his throat and ensuring the immediate compliance of the others. TJ did his best not to shake from fear as Charlotte began to cry. He held his breath and looked at his sister, fear in his eyes.

"The boy for the girl, right now," Murphy barked.

"Don't do it, Charlotte," TJ pleaded with his friend.

"I, I can't let any of you get hurt for me," the girl cried, backing up towards the edge of the cliff. "Not because of me, not after what I did."

TJ's breath was ripped from his lungs as Murphy released him in time to watch his friend plummet over the edge of the cliff. He felt Clarke's arms wrap around his waist and she held him to her as he cried.


	6. Chapter 6

14

 **DAY TEN**

The next morning, TJ woke up screaming. After they had banished Murphy, the others had gone back to camp and the siblings had gone to the bunker. Finn wanted to accompany them but Clarke would not let him, saying that she needed to be alone with her brother. The boy had just seen his friend die, someone had held a knife to his throat while his friend died. She needed to hold him and reassure him that everything would be okay.

TJ's breathing was broken and strained as he sat up, looking around at the bunker and his sister. He had fallen asleep where he usually did, curled up into her chest. She smoothed down his hair and brought his head back to where it had been tucked under her chin, kissing his hair and soothing, "It's okay, you're safe."

"Clarke, I wanna go home," he cried.

"I'm afraid we are home, kid."

She soothed him back to sleep and sighed. Their mother had done this, their mother had put them in this situation and she was responsible for her brother's suffering. Clarke wanted to hate the woman, but she could not. she was angry at her, but, more than anything, she was just hurt. She had gotten their father killed, had locked her and her brother up, and had sent them to the ground.

At dawn she woke him, got him to change his clothes, and told him that they had to get going. She was going to tell the others about the bunker, was going to share the supplies, but for now there was no reason that they could not take advantage of what they had at their disposal. The sun had just begun to rise when they saw something falling out of the sky. The siblings thought that they were seeing things at first but both saw whatever it was land. They quickened their pace back to camp, needing to get to their people and find out what had happened.

Bellamy was missing when they returned. There was a glance shared between Clarke and Finn and it seemed that they both understood what had happened. The blonde left her brother with Monty, who looked extremely dejected at not having established communications with the Ark. Still, he cheered up at the sight of the young boy. With the knowledge that nothing would happen to TJ, Clarke and Finn set off to find whatever it was that fell from the sky.

Monty sat down with TJ in the drop ship, handing the boy a knife and a piece of wood. He asked the younger boy to teach him, in the hopes that it would be enough to distract him. TJ knew what he was doing, but he allowed it. Besides, Monty looked so disheartened that he could hardly refuse. They were joined by Colton, who sat down and took to sharpening his knife.

"So, where were you last night?" Monty asked.

"Finn showed us a bunker that he found in the woods and Clarke wanted to go there rather than come back," TJ explained. "She thought it'd be good to get away for a while, I guess. There's supplies and stuff. I'll take you there later."

"Is that where you got the new clothes?" Colton looked up. He was large for a thirteen year old, but he had a gentle smile. He always wore homemade shorts and a plain grey t-shirt, rather than the jeans and jackets that most of them wore. He had sandy brown hair, hazel eyes, and tanned skin, though he was almost always covered in dirt. He had looked out for TJ when they were in lock up and he had a soft spot for the younger kids.

"Yeah, there's more there, too. Whoever built it stocked it with kids' clothes. There's all kinds of stuff that we can use."

"What about electronics?" Monty seemed giddy at the thought.

"I saw some stuff. I don't know how much there is, but it's worth a look."

Clarke came running back into camp, another girl in tow. She said that they had to start a manhunt for the radio that had been in the girl's pod. That was what had fallen from the sky. He wanted to go out with them but Clarke made him stay. She looked extremely worried, and that did not sit well with him.

As everyone was running around, getting missiles together or something, TJ went off in search of Octavia. He had not seen her all morning, which was odd as they usually shared meals and she would stop by frequently to chat while he was working. He was searching around the walls of the camp when he ran into the girl that had come from the Ark.

"Red hair, green eyes. Wait," she called as the boy began to move away. "Are you TJ? TJ Griffin?"

"Yeah, why?" he mumbled, looking at the ground and shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He took her hand when she offered it but he was still confused as to why she was talking to him in the first place.

"My name is Raven, do you think we could talk for a bit?"

TJ just nodded and led her over to a tree stump that was sticking up out of the ground. He inspected the girl and noticed that, though her frame was slight, she had callouses on her hands. He knew that that meant that she worked hard and she instantly gained his respect. She cleared her throat and, when he looked up, began, "The pod that I came in, well, in was meant for two people. I wasn't supposed to come down here alone. All of this was your mom's idea. I just, I wanted you to know that she fought really hard to be here with you and Clarke. I've never seen anyone love someone the way that she loves you guys."

"Yeah, I guess," the boy shrugged. In truth, he did not know what to believe. His mom had gotten his father floated. His father, who had loved him and taught him to be a better person. His father, who had always put everyone above himself. He was so mad at his mother for what she had done that it was hard to feel the love underneath it all.

"What is it?"

"Did you know that she got our dad floated? She turned him in and he died. And then she sent us here to die. I don't know if I can love her anymore."

"You feel betrayed, right?"

"Yeah."

"Betrayal is a funny thing, kid. You love her, it wouldn't hurt so bad if you didn't. if she was just another person, you wouldn't care so much."

"But how, how do we move on from this?"

"By remembering that, no matter her faults, Abby loves you. Trust me, I know. I spent the week that we were building the pod listening to her talk about nothing but you and Clarke. She risked her life to get down here and be with you guys. Don't forget that."

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know, I hope so."

TJ joined his sister as they sat off the rockets. She explained to him that they were a signal to the Ark, to let them know that they were alive. She rested her arms on his shoulders from behind and rested her chin on his head as they watched the sky above them light up. The boy thought about what Raven had said, and he hoped that he and his sister could find a way to forgive their mother.

 **DAY ELEVEN**

Clarke woke to her brother shaking her shoulder urgently. She looked up to find a desperation in his eyes that alarmed her. She sat up and rubbed her face, mumbling out, "What is it?"

"It's Octavia, I can't find her," he said in a small voice. She looked around and noticed that it was still dark.

"She's probably fine."

"No, I haven't seen her all day and I can't find her anywhere. Come on, come help Bellamy and me look."

Clarke was not taking it seriously but she got up and shook the sleep off, deciding that it was probably better to humor her brother than let him wander around the camp alone. After searching all of the obvious places, she began to worry as well. It was not like Octavia to just run off without telling anyone, especially without telling TJ.

When they did not find her, Bellamy organized a search party. Clarke grabbed her new spear and her knife. When it was decided that she would take Raven to the bunker, she decided to take along her brother. She would never take him on a rescue mission, but she figured that it would be pretty safe if they were just walking to the bunker. TJ had a knife at his belt and a spear in his hand but he smiled and swung his arms in the most adorable way that neither Raven or Clarke could help but to smile at him. Only he could make being armed to the teeth _cute_.

"He's so… happy and carefree," Raven told Clarke as they walked, her voice taking on a disbelieving tone. "How can he manage to do that while dressed like he's going to war?"

"He's a child," the blonde said simply. "Not only that, but he's a happy child. He sees all of the evil in this world and he chooses to look past it. He can find the good in anything. That's the amazing thing about kids, they're far more resilient than the rest of us. Contrary to what everyone believes, I don't stay strong for him. I stay strong _because_ of him."

"How many kids came down?"

"There are six under the age of fourteen, the youngest is only eight. But really, we're all just kids."

"It looks like you're doing an amazing job. Your mom would be so proud of you."

"Yeah, mother of the year."

TJ was skipping by the time they made it to the bunker. Neither girl would have been surprised if he had started humming or singing. It was actually starting to worry Clarke, as they had had a rough couple of days. She was worried that he was internalizing everything that he was feeling rather than letting it out, as was healthy. She realized that they would have to have a talk once they returned to camp. They found what they were looking for quickly and headed back to the drop ship.

Raven and Monty were sure that they could repair the radio and it spread hope throughout the camp. The idea that they were no longer alone, cut off from the people that they loved, was the best thing that could have happened. TJ sat vigil at Monty's side, handing him tools as the older boy explained what they were doing. He was not sure that he was ready to see or talk to his mother yet, but knowing that he would have the opportunity was enough for him. At the end of the day, he was just a ten year old kid that wanted his mom.

"Clarke, where's Clarke," Bellamy's voice rang throughout camp. Everyone rushed out to see them bringing an injured Finn in. they laid him down in the drop ship and the Griffin siblings looked at each other fearfully. They knew a lot about medicine but they could not afford to mess this up. TJ went to their tent and got everything that his sister had been collecting to use for healing. They did not have much; a few bandages, some medicinal herbs, a homemade scalpel, a needle, some wire for suturing, and some of Monty's alcohol for disinfecting.

Clarke, TJ, and Striker were all standing around Finn, looking at each other worriedly, when the Art responded to Raven's message. Their troubles were momentarily forgotten as the heard the voice of Jackson.

"Raven? Raven, are you there?" came the voice of Abby Griffin. The siblings looked at each other, the younger with tears in his eyes, and they scurried over to the radio.

"Mom?" Clarke said tentatively. "Mom, it's me."

"Clarke?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm here."

"Ana-and what about TJ?"

"I'm here too, Mom," the boy smiled through his tears. "I'm okay. We're okay."

"Mom, we need your help," Clarke said, getting down to business. They would have time for a social call later, after they saved Finn. "One of our people was stabbed by and a grounder and it's, it's bad."

"Clarke, this is the chancellor," Jaha's self entitled voice came over the radio, making the blonde want to roll her eyes. "Are you saying there's survivors on the ground?"

"Yes, the Earth is survivable. We're not alone. Mom, he's dying. The knife's still in his chest."

"Clarke, is my son with you?"

The blonde's heart broke all over again at the thought of Wells. She may not have liked his father, she may have even hated him, but she wished that she did not have to cause him the pain that she was about to inflict.

"I'm so sorry. Wells is… Wells is dead."

There was a long period of silence before Abby Griffin's voice filled the air once again. TJ sterilized everything for his sister with Monty's moonshine, listening and doing exactly as she told him. Striker corralled everyone upstairs on the second level but returned to Clarke's side. The blonde had to admit that she preferred that the two children were with her rather than being crowded in a small space or watching whatever Bellamy was going to do to the grounder that they had brought in.

TJ and Striker helped Raven hold Finn down as Clarke extracted the knife amidst the Earth shaking. The two boys ended up sprawled on the floor on top of each other and TJ had hit his head but the blonde had been able to remove the knife. TJ's head was bleeding and Clarke instructed Striker to bandage his wound while she stitched up Finn's chest.

"Okay, I'm done," Clarke said, snipping the wire and ending the sutures.

"Good, do you have anything to cover the wound?" he mother asked.

"We'll make do, like always."

"Should he be this pale?" asked Raven in an obviously worried voice. "Warm, too."

"He's lost a lot of blood, Raven, but if your boyfriend is anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure he'll be fine."

TJ felt along Finn's neck and looked at his sister before saying, "Wait Mom, she's right."

"He's feverish," Clarke examined. "And his breathing's uneven."

"Well, you need to give him some time to recover," the doctor on the Ark assured them. "Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think, I think he might just be out of the woods."

"Well, down here there's nothing but woods. I need a break."

"Clarke? Clarke, wait! Raven, could you give me a few minutes with my kids?"

"Sure," the mechanic said in a voice that was eager to please. Clarke, however, cut her off, "No, stay with Finn."

TJ watched his sister go up the ladder with a nervous look on his face. He understood what was going through her head, why she did not want to talk to their mother. Still, he did not share her sentiment. He sat down in front of the radio and sighed before beginning, "She's just mad. Really, really mad."

"Why? Did something happen?" TJ could hear the motherly tone in the doctor's voice that he would always associate with her.

"We know, Mom. We know that it was you that told the council, you that got Dad floated. You also sent us down here to die. She's just… having a hard time dealing with it all."

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry."

"I know."

"Are you mad?"

The redhead was going to respond, when a sound pulled his attention to the table that Finn was laying on. Oh no, that was not good. He rushed over and pulled he older boy on his side, calling for his sister, "Clarke, get down here. He's seizing."

He could hear her feet on the ladder as his panic set in. He could see his fear reflected in Striker's eyes. They could not be responsible for Finn's death. Once the seizing had stopped, Clarke had them roll him on his side. That was when Striker, young, innocent Striker, suggested that he might have been poisoned. The blonde raced back up the ladder and left them alone. TJ tried to comfort Raven but it was no use, he was afraid too. After a minute the boy began to seize again and the brown haired girl could take it no longer. She went up to find Clarke.

Once she was gone, both young boys exchanged a weighted look that spoke of their fear. They stood on either side of a table, standing vigil over a dying boy, and there was nothing that they could do. Finn's skin was heating up rapidly under TJ's hand and he called for his sister, with no reply. When their patient stopped breathing, the boy was forced to perform CPR. He had only ever done it once, though his mom had made him practice, and he was not confident in his abilities. Still, he was able to get Finn breathing again.

Clarke brought a vial down when she and Raven returned and she had her brother hold Finn's head back as she poured the contents down his throat. They were all nervous and praying that this would work. Raven and Striker left the siblings alone to go fetch water and get some fresh air. All they could do now was wait.

"Hello Clarke, TJ, can you hear me?" the radio sprung back to life with the sound of Dr. Griffin's crackling, distorted voice.

"We're here," the blonde sighed, wiping tears from her cheeks that she had not noticed had fallen.

"Oh, thank god. The uh, it looks like the storm is passing. How's Finn doing?"

"I think he'll be okay."

"Well, that thanks to you, to the both of you. I'm so proud of you, your father would be proud too."

Clarke stood and moved over to the radio, a look of hate on her face that scared even her brother. When she spoke, her voice trembled, "Don't, talk, about him."

"Clarke?"

"Dad's dead because of you. You turned him in. We both know it. Wells told me before he… before he… He let us believe that he did it so that we'd hate him instead of you."

"Clarke, TJ, I want you both to listen to me. That was never supposed to happen. Jaha was supposed to talk him out of it."

"No, I'm done talking to you," the blonde said, hitting the radio in a fit of anger. Tears were streaming down her face and she sunk to the floor as the sound of static filled the room. She covered her face with her hands and leaned into her brother when he sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. There was nothing that he could say, and so neither said a word. They both cried quietly as the weight of the world pressed down on them.


	7. Chapter 7

**DAY TWELVE**

Clarke woke to a mouthful of red hair and an ache in her back. She and TJ had fallen asleep on the floor of the drop ship and the position had not been kind to either of them. The blonde looked up to find Raven hunched over the table, speaking softly. That mean that Finn was alive and she could breathe a sigh of relief. The storm had passed and morning had finally arrived, both literally and metaphorically. The Hundred's spirits were lifted.

Striker offered Clarke an herbal tea when she exited the drop ship and she could not help but smile as he passed a second cup to her brother. Raven promised to get the communications back up and even said that she could connect the radio to the screen in the drop ship so that they could see the Ark but Clarke could care less. She did not want to see her mother, not yet. She knew it would be unavoidable once the woman was on the ground but she could wait until then. She needed space to try and forgive her.

Clarke needed something to take her mind off of what was happening and thought that going to retrieve the supplies from the bunker would be as good of a distraction as anything. Most everyone was cleaning up the camp but she grabbed Monroe, Squid, and Goren to help her. She did not offer to take her brother because she knew that, once Raven reestablished communications, he would want to talk to their mother. She wished that she could be as forgiving as he was.

TJ waited anxiously as Raven and Monty began connecting the radio to the screen, hovering over them. His conversation with his mother had been cut short and he wanted to talk to her, to see her. He was even too nervous to truly pay attention to what Monty was saying to him, though he appreciated it still. No matter what, the older boy never stopped trying to teach him.

After a few minutes of their tinkering, an image popped up on the screen. From the look of it, TJ thought that it looked like the Earth Monitoring station. The only person there was Jackson but he called down on the Ark's communication system for them to get the link moved somewhere better. They set up in the council chambers and, after a few minutes, Abigail Griffin appeared on the screen. TJ had to admit that his mother looked a little worse for wear. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying with dark circles underneath. Her hair, usually perfectly pristine, was frizzy and looked unwashed. Her clothes were rumpled as if she had been sleeping in them. He was worried about her.

"Mom," the redheaded boy said as he sat down in front of the screen. After moving Finn to his tent, they had set up the monitor on the table and there was a chair there to sit on. He rubbed his face and looked up to see his mother crying. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"I'm just… happy that you're okay, sweetheart," the doctor said with a genuine smile on her face. "Where's your sister?"

"She took a group out to get some supplies from a bunker we found. Look, you know how she is. She'll come to you when she's ready, not before. She just… needs time to not be so mad."

"You never got to answer my question last night, are you mad at me?"

"I know that I should be, that I have the right to be, but no, I'm not."

"Why not?"

"You're my mom, Mom. You took me in when no one else wanted me, you gave me a home and a family. You've loved me my entire life and I… I miss you."

The boy began to cry, he had never spoken truer words. Through his hiccupping sobs he got out, "I just want you to ho-hold me and t-tell me that every-everything is gonna b-be okay."

Abby had a pained look on her face and reached her hand out to touch the screen, wishing that she could hold her son. "Oh baby, I'm coming down soon, I promise. We're preparing to send down an Exodus ship within the next couple of weeks and I have a spot on it. I'll be able to see you in a few weeks."

"Really?"

"Yeah TJ, I'll be there soon. Will you tell Clarke?"

"Sure. Could you maybe, bring down my bear?" TJ asked quietly, looking down as he felt his face flush a bright red. They had not been able to bring anything down with them and he had left his stuffed teddy bear that he had slept with since he was an infant. He was ashamed to admit that he missed it. His mother smiled at him fondly and tears filled her eyes at the sight of her little boy's delicate innocence.

"Of course I will. Is there anything else that you want, or anything that you think Clarke might want?"

"Um, she'd probably appreciate her art journals and Dad's leather jacket. I'll just be happy to see you."

And the conversation went on from there. TJ told his mother all about life on the ground, what had been happening, and she took it all in stride. He had a hard time telling her about what had happened to Charlotte and he cried when he talked about it. He heart broke for her son but it was also heavy with grief because she knew that, when it was all said and done, she was to blame for their suffering. She had turned her husband in and had started the chain reaction that had caused everything that was wrong in her children's lives. She had done that to then.

They could have talked forever if Clarke had not returned, requesting her brother's assistance. She had stood unseen in the doorway of the drop ship for some time, watching her only remaining family members talk. She wanted to hate her mother but that was very hard to do when she could see the way that the woman looked at TJ. She was not ready to talk to her yet, but she was almost ready to forgive.

"TJ, I need your help separating and passing out clothes," the blonde told her brother. He stood up reluctantly, giving his mother a farewell, and left, Clarke ruffling his hair on his way out. When he was gone, she turned back to the screen to see her mother staring at her, as if she was looking into her very soul. Before the woman in space could say anything, the blonde walked out.

Clarke set TJ, Luna, and Striker up to separate the clothes and Monroe and Sterling offered to pass them out once they were done. The blonde looked around at what was happening in the camp and sighed. For once, there was no one for her to patch up and she knew that if she wanted to get away, now would be the time. She grabbed her spear, stuck a knife in her belt, slung a spear on her back, and grabbed some food before slipping out of the gates. She figured that she would try her hand at hunting.

She tread lightly in her soft leather boots as she sped through the forest, doing her best not to make a sound. She had a lot of experience sneaking around, as she had spent two years on the Ark sneaking behind her parents' backs to see Wells. She went to the river in search of deer, nesting down in a lower branch to wait for game. She had been practicing everyday with her spear and hoped that it would be enough to take down an animal. It was some time later when her head whipped around at the sound of footsteps. She turned so fast that she fell, her head hitting a rock and knocking her unconscious.

"Have you seen Clarke?" TJ asked Jasper as he walked into the drop ship. It had been hours since he had last laid eyes on his sister and it was getting dark.

"Not since this morning, why?" Jasper was absentmindedly repairing a tear in one of their tents.

"I can't find her and it's been hours. I don't think she's in camp. I was, well, I was wondering if you would go out with me and help me look for her."

"How about I get some people together to go look for her and you stay here? Clarke would kill all of us if something happened to you."

Jasper armed himself and went to find others to join him. in the end, he, Squid, Sterling, Monroe, and Octavia set off to look for their lost leader.


	8. Chapter 8

**DAY THIRTEEN**

It was dark when Clarke opened her eyes again, though she could tell that there was a light somewhere nearby. She blinked rapidly and tried to turn her head but found that, when she did, pain shot through her with a crippling affect. She let out a groan and suddenly a face hovered above hers, concern etched into its' features. It was the face of a woman older than Clarke, likely in her mid-twenties. She had almond shaped eyes that were a swirling hazel color that absolutely captivated the younger woman. Her long, dirty blonde hair was pulled back in braids and she was dressed in furs. _She's a grounder_ , the younger woman thought.

" _Yu ste klir, Klark kom Skaikru,_ " the woman said in a smooth, sultry voice. She dabbed at Clarke's head with a wet cloth and smiled lightly.

"I don't understand," the younger woman whispered hoarsely.

"I said, you are safe, Clarke of the Sky People."

"How-how do you know my name?"

"We have been watching you, all of you. Do not worry, I will not hurt you."

Clarke had a hard time believing that. Still, this woman was treating her wounds.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I do not know," her voice sounded extremely frustrated and Clarke could tell that she was telling the truth. Whatever the reason, the young woman was thankful, and she tried to convey that with her eyes. The other woman lifted her head and wrapped it in what felt like a bandage and Clarke realized that she must have cut it open. When the bandage was secure, the woman helped her sit up and handed her a clay cup filled with water to drink from. "My name is Anya."

"Thank you for helping me, Anya. How long was I asleep?"

"Several hours. I considered leaving you near your camp but I was afraid that you would die. Are you hungry?"

"I probably shouldn't eat any solid foods after the likely concussion that I have."

" _Yu fisa?"_

"What?"

"You are a healer?"

"Kind of. Our healers are called doctors. My mother is a doctor and I've learned a lot from her. I wish I knew more but I'm doing what I can. I'm just trying to keep my people alive."

"That is admirable, and I know how it feels. I lead my people as well, and I know the burden that leading puts on you. Do not worry, you are strong."

"I got knocked out by a tree."

"It was a tough tree," Anya smiled, though Clarke thought that it was likely an expression that was quite foreign to her face. "How do you feel?"

"Like I might blow chunks, but my headache is getting better."

"I have something for that."

The grounder woman reached behind her and picked up a bowl filled with yellow leaves. Clarke's immediate thought was that it could be poisonous but she figured that if Anya was going to kill her she would have done it already. She chewed them and moved her head to look, inspecting her surroundings. She was in a small tent, laid out on a pallet of animal furs. There was not much else, other than Anya's weapons, which she had taken off and laid near the opening.

"Can you walk?" Anya asked.

"I think so," the younger woman nodded as she shakily tried to stand up. Anya caught her and held her up, pressed into a supple chest. "Thank you."

"You do not need to thank me, _Klarm kom Skaikru_. I am afraid that you will not make it back to your camp on your own. I will carry you."

"My people will kill you. I'll make it back okay."

"You will not," and suddenly Clarke was being lifted by strong arms under her back and knees. She wrapped her arms around Anya's neck and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. This woman, this grounder leader, was so gentle with her, even though she could tell that she was an extremely fierce warrior. Clarke breathed in and smiled, the smell of the older woman filling her nostrils, fresh earth, trees, and flowers.

When they were near the camp Anya sat her down, placing her hands on the younger woman's waist to steady her. Clarke looked up into hazel eyes and sighed, "Will I ever see you again?"

"I will not be far. I will be watching you," she said gently, tucking a strand of hair behind Clarke's ear with a smile. "Should you ever need me, all you must do is call out. I will find you."

"Thank you, Anya."

The older woman leant down and pressed a soft kiss into Clarke's cheek before backing away into the tree line. The blonde sighed wistfully and turned, heading back towards her camp. When she passed through the gates she was knocked to the ground by a dense, firm body. Her brother buried his head in her chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her midsection.

When she finally got her brother off of her, Clarke did her best to explain what had happened. He did not understand why the grounder had done what she did, but neither did he. Bellamy sent Thallan out to find the search party and they returned just as dawn was breaking. Monty cam to tell them that Chancellor Jaha was on the communication system and wanted to talk to her. She just rolled her eyes and walked off to the drop ship, her mind on hazel eyes and braided blonde hair.

TJ, Striker, and Monty had been working on a special project and, after some last minute stitching, they were finally finished. After having the idea the week before, they now had a ball. They had made it with some left over insulation from the drop ship wrapped in deer skin and it had a mechanism that they could use to inflate it. None had ever actually seen or played with a ball, but they had all watched hundred year old soccer games on the Ark and were excited to try it.

TJ and Striker were able to round up enough people that were on break to play a quick game in the empty space behind the drop ship. No one was entirely sure on the rules but they set up two sticks on either ends of the clearing for goals, picked teams, and decided that they did not need rules. They were going to wing it. The younger boys got everyone excited and soon all who were not on guard duty were standing around watching, waiting for their turn to play, or talking to their parents on the radio.

Clarke knew that she was hallucinating when she saw her father but she could not tell whether Anya was real or not. she fell into the woman's arms and nuzzled her neck, practically purring. She was high and the grounder was not truly there, so it did not matter what she did. At least, that's what she thought. She felt strong arms wrap around her and she smiled.

"You are unwell," the taller woman observed. Clarke was only a few inches shorter than average, at five feet and two inches tall, but the other woman stood at least six inches taller than her. "What have you had to eat today?"

"Some nuts, do you want some?" Clarke slurred, reaching into her pocket and offering them to the other woman.

"Clarke, these are poisonous. When they go bad, they cause you to have visions."

"Obviously, I mean, you're not really here."

"No, I am really here and you are really messed up. I need to get you out of here."

Clarke stepped back and shook her head, her mind beginning to clear. When she looked to find that Anya was, indeed, real her face broke out into a grin. She began placing guns and ammunition into her bag and slung it on to her back. She considered giving a riffle to the grounder but the other woman was looking at them as if they would bite her and so she figured that she would not chance it. They were heading towards the exit when Dax rounded the corner with a gun.

The delinquent took a quick moment to assess the situation before he lifted the gun and shot Anya. Clarke screamed and kneeled next to her to inspect the wound when the gun connected with the back of her head, knocking her temporarily unconscious. When she woke up the boy was gone and the woman under her was bleeding heavily. She ripped off several strips of cloth from her shirt and tied them around Anya's stomach to bandage the wound. The woman was unconscious and Clarke knew that she would not be able to carry her and so she went up the ladder to find Bellamy to help her.

She took a gun with her but ended up not needing it. After Dax was dead, she began to explain, "When we go back down there, you're going to see something that's going to shock the hell out of you and I don't want you to worry, okay? When I was out hunting yesterday I fell and hit my head-"

"That's why you're wearing the headband," Bellamy realized. "It's a bandage."

"Yes, it is. I feel out of a tree and hit my head. A woman found me, took me to her tent, and tended to my wounds. She's uh, she's a grounder. He shot her. Please, you have to help me."

"We tortured one of them, why would they want to help us?"

"We're all human, Bell."

The man thought about that for a moment before nodding and following Clarke down the hatch. Anya, thankfully, was only carrying a sword and so she did not appear as menacing, especially asleep. Bellamy picked up the grounder and Clarke began placing guns in the remaining bags that they had brought, as many as she could carry. When they were ready, they took off back towards their camp.

They did their best to slip in unnoticed but the Hundred were practically rioting at finding the grounder that they had captured missing. Bellamy transferred the older woman to Clarke and took the guns, going out to talk to their people while the young blonde took Anya into the drop ship. Her brother came in and looked upon their patient apprehensively but she merely sent him away for water and clean bandages.

The bullet had gone straight through her her upper stomach and had not hit any many organs, but she had lost a lot of blood on the journey back. Clarke cauterized, cleaned, and bandaged the wound but she was afraid that it was not enough. The woman needed a blood transfusion and they did not have the equipment to give her one. Clarke could only hope that she would survive long enough for her body to replenish her blood naturally.


End file.
